With the proliferation of CD and DVD technology, the average consumer now has ten's if not hundreds of discs to manage. The difficulty in using the discs is in the area of disc management. The discs must be stored and then removed from their storage units, usually a standard jewel case made of polystyrene with a hinged cover, and placed in a desired player. Frequently, after normal use, the removing of the disc from its protective case to the player can result in permanent damage. Scratches to the disc, usually caused from dirt or dust accumulated on the disc renders the disc inoperable and must be replaced. It is highly beneficial to a user to keep the optical or information side of the disc free from all debris such as dust.
The damaged disc present several problems. First, as discs are used as backup devices in the information technology industry, the loss of crucial data can result in unfortunate circumstances. Another problem is the expense of the loss of data itself or the expense of the act of having to recover the data from another source and record it again on the disc.
Another problem for the individual consumer market is the cost of replacing the CD's or DVD's. With the average inventory of discs for the typical consumer being around a hundred discs, the cost of replacing damaged discs each year can be a significant expense.
Another problem in the area of disc management is that of shelf space. With the average jewel case being 1-2 cm in width, a slimmer storage case will allow storage of more encased discs per square inch of shelf space.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device that can protect the information containing side of CD's or DVD's from contamination of dust and debris without having to be removed from the device in order to use the enclosed disc in a standard CD/CVD player.